What people are saying...

If you'd like to leave a comment or feedback, please use the feedback form →

David L Small - 12 July 2003

Please help. Yesterday I watched what looked like a moth about 20mm long, but behaved just like a humming bird. It's wings beat at an incredible speed while the probosis ( if thats what it is called ) searched inside each verbena flower. I would be very grateful if you could identify what I saw, even if it what not a moth.

Steve Davenport - 12 July 2003

As someone who takes a great interest in moths and butterflies alike, and especially hawkmoths, it was to my delight (and dismay for not having seen it!), that a colleague descibed an insect that he had seen that morning at work. I work in Alderley edge in Cheshire. He had been tending to some plants, when he disturbed a large flying insect, that he described as bee-like, but much larger. He described the way it flew from plant to plant as very agile, and said it resembled a humming bird. It could only be a bee hawkmoth, presumably a broad bordered, and when I showed him a picture of one he agreed that is what he saw. So, on the one hand I'm really pleased that these insects are being seen up here, (up north!), but really dissapointed not to have seen it myself, having never seen one in the wild before. Nevermind I suppose............

Dorothy McKenzie - 12 July 2003

I was delighted to find the Hummingbird Moth on your list. I live in Co Tyrone and I spent an intriging few minutes on Thursday afternoon watching this moth feed and nobody I spoke to had seen anything like the creature I described to them. I thoroughly enjoyed the website - many thanks.

Nick - 11 July 2003

I found that the site is a bit too wide for my 800x600 display and it is a bit slow to load on my 56k modem but looks good. Good luck with it.

Mary Pratt - 11 July 2003

We have a Vapourer caterpillar feeding on a very precious rose bush in a container in our very small back yard in the middle of Stourbridge. It eats leaves for two days and then a rose bud for a day. It has been our guest for two weeks now.

Beate Krug - 11 July 2003

Hi there nice page keep your good work on !
Greets Beate

Lina Lan - 10 July 2003

Hi there nice page keep your good work on !
Greets Lina

Hayley & George - 9 July 2003

On Saturday 5/7/03 at 14.30 we saw what we thought to be a strange butterfly on our impatients in the back garden in Groby, Leicestershire. We were alerted by its ability to hover. We stood transfixed by this beautiful creature which we have now identified as a hummingbird hawkmoth. What a treasure!!!

burhinus - 8 July 2003

Very useful site. I read with interest about several species. I can confirm Elephant Hawk Moth also lays its eggs on Fuschia plants, which the caterpillars love to eat!

burhinus

lucy bartrick - 7 July 2003

this site good especely if u have a project 2 do in a few days it heped lodsa

sulia - 7 July 2003

Thank you....was able to identify a swallow-tailed moth thanks to your site!
Found it resting on my bed early one morning, and was quite enchanted with its lovely pale yellow/cream colouring, brown spots on the \"swallow tails\" and its largeish size. Thanks again!

Michael Carney - 7 July 2003

I've recently become interested in moths. I have heard that some experts can do an identification \"party\" at your home; with a white sheet etc. As it is my birthday coming up soon I was wondering if you knew of anyone who does this in the Lancashire area?
Mike

Jack Camplin - 6 July 2003

I was enchanted by an angelic moth which fluttered into the office at the end of a hard day, and was further pleased by its identification with the aid of your website: Ourapteryx Sambucaria, or Swallow-tailed Moth. Near definitive website, brilliant.

Jame lucl - 6 July 2003

Thank you I found your website very informative.

once again thank you
James

Mike Sweeney, Norwich - 5 July 2003

Very helpful site and easy to use.

blue - 5 July 2003

After hearing my mum screaming for help ( she doesnt cope with moths too well) in the garden, we found an very strange looking moth and thanks to your website i discovered it was an elephant hawk moth!

marty - 3 July 2003

I have a really strikingly white moth on my front door.I thought it was a small feather off a seagull or something.
I looked on this website to see if I could identify it and the closest I came to was a White Prominent.
The moth I have does have brown markings on the wings, but is thought to be extinct in Britain.Apparently they once lived in SW Ireland and I live in South Liverpool.
Anyone any ideas what it could be?

stan - 2 July 2003

brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!! help loadzs and loadas for my biology fair!!!
stan ,west kirby

Harri Jalava - 2 July 2003

Contents local species lists from Finland and Estonia (in Finnish, under heavy construction. Later also in Estonian and in English)

Paul Jefferies - 2 July 2003

Just found your site after doing a search for British moths. I wanted to find out the type of moth I had fly into my room earlier. It was a Swallow Tailed. I often get different types flying in here, as I'm on the computer all night. I like the site. I'll be able to name all of my nightime visitors now.

billy davison - 2 July 2003

thought i saw a humming bird in my garden ,my son was made up.
i then had a look moths at this web site and i think it was a humming bird hawk moth.
i live in liverpool with a wood at the back of the garden this moth was all over myhunny suckel plant .
once in a life time .

Cindy James - 1 July 2003

I was mugged by a moth that looked familiar and when i found this site was able to identify it by looking in Beginners top20 - it was the garden tiger moth (britain's most famous!) and felt like a real idiot, other people attacked by it at work thought it must be foreign so I am glad I went with my instincts and looked at UK first, it was sighted on 1st July 2003 at Shoeburyness on ex-MOD grounds. Thanks for your help.

Maggie Devlin - 1 July 2003

Very good site for identification - I identified a Water Betony caterpillar which I found feeding on figwort on a Bristol allotment this year, June '03. I also identified an Elephant Hawk moth caterpillar which I found crawling up my leg outside the Star and Garter pub in Bristol back in 1993! Gave me quite a turn! I will be dropping in to the site again to look up other strange beasts. The site is helping me learn my Lepidoptera, look, I can spell it already. I have a photo of the Water Betony larva which I will send to you as soon as I figure out how !

Barry Barnacal - 1 July 2003

Great site and very imformative for a total beginer.

Webpromotion - 1 July 2003

Hallo Leute, ne tolle page habt ihr da,,, gutes ansprechendes Design, gr?sse Ulysses Gutierrez
webpromotion
Suchmaschinenoptimierung

emma Kaye - 1 July 2003

good site, but couldn't find what i was lookin for. I have seen a fairly small moth. It is 'dainty' and looks a very pale blue/purple colour on top and a creamy underside. Then when it goes into the light, the blue colour turns to pale green. Does any one have any ideas? its one of the prettiest i've seen. If you know what it is could you let me know. Thanks!

Janet Clark - 30 June 2003

This is a really helpful site, I am injoying having a look around it.

R.Kennett - 30 June 2003

Excellent,just what I have been needing!

Geoff. Colinese - 29 June 2003

I am seeking a beautiful moth found in an abor in a neighbour's garden this morning (29.06.03). Mainly browns, about 50 mms long. Have taken pics but need to have developed later.

Susan Lewis - 29 June 2003

Trapping in N.W. Shropshire, found a beautiful Golden Plusia in the trap this morning, along with 93 moths of 32 species.

Feedback